The rich who ignore the plight of the poor, the rich who make the lives of the poor worse while justifying their actions by demeaning the dignity of the poor, will eventually face the consequences of what they have done. Their indifference to the plight of others, or worse, the way they make the poor and vulnerable feel less than human, undermine the dignity of life. Their claims must be rejected, and their actions resisted. The rich must not be seen as superior to everyone else because of their wealth; if anything, when they possess a disproportionate amount of wealth in relation to their need, hoarding it up so as to prevent the just distribution of goods, they represent people of inferior character, indicating their own inferiority. Eventually, they will experience the consequences of their actions. Justice will prevail. In the final analysis, in the end, their wealth will do them no good. This is one of the many lessons we are to learn from the parable of Lazarus and the rich man. Dives, the rich man, consistently saw Lazarus outside of his home seeking help, but the rich man always ignored him. Eventually Lazarus died and was received by Abraham. Then the rich man died:
The rich man also died and was buried; and in Hades, being in torment, he lifted up his eyes, and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus in his bosom. And he called out, `Father Abraham, have mercy upon me, and send Lazarus to dip the end of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am in anguish in this flame.’ But Abraham said, `Son, remember that you in your lifetime received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner evil things; but now he is comforted here, and you are in anguish’ (Lk. 16:23-25 RSV).
Due to the way Jesus gave used the name of Lazarus in the parable, a name which is also the the name of a close friend of his, some think this parable somehow reflects something of the way his friend lived, died, and came back to life. They want the parable to have some sort of historical basis. However, that is not likely because Lazarus has a tomb, indicating he was not a poor man like the Lazarus in the parable. In reality, it doesn’t matter if the parable has any historical basis to it. The parable presents a general truth, the truth that those who are rich must not neglect the welfare of the poor, because if they do, they will find their lack of charity creates within them a desolate spiritual condition, one which will bring them anguish, sometimes during their lives on earth (as seen in the way no amount of wealth brings them true satisfaction and happiness), but also after they die.
Often, it seems like there is no justice in the world. The rich not only live their lives in indifference to the poor around them, they get rich on the backs of the poor; they end up making more than anyone would ever need, not just in their own lifetime, but many lifetimes. The point of this parable is to tell us, however things might appear, no one will ever escape the justice of God. The rich might live a life of luxury. They might get power and privilege in the world. It might seem that they can even break the law and use their wealth and privilege to avoid going to court, which the poor cannot do, but their money, their status is only temporary. They will eventually have to come to terms with what they have done. Their lack of mercy, like the rich man in this parable, will prevent them from receiving mercy in return. They will experience the cruelty they embraced coming back at them, demonstrating the truth that sin creates its own punishment.
We are also meant to learn that some people become so attached to their own immoral activity, defending it so much, they will ignore even the most authoritative responses to it, such as if someone came back from the dead and warned them what they will experience if they do not change their ways.
While some read this parable as indicating that the rich man is lost for eternity, and as such, this parable presents to us the necessity that some will suffer eternal perdition, that is more than what the parable suggests. Indeed, there are hints that something more might be involved. The rich man, though dealing with the consequences of his life, especially the consequences of living a life without much compassion or charity, shows that he still has a sense of charity within him, one which seems to be growing due to his experience after death. It leads him to want to warn his kinsmen of what awaits them if they live their lives like him; he is not allowed to do so, and he is told it would do not good:
And he said, `Then I beg you, father, to send him to my father’s house, for I have five brothers, so that he may warn them, lest they also come into this place of torment.’ But Abraham said, `They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.’ And he said, `No, father Abraham; but if some one goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’ He said to him, `If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be convinced if some one should rise from the dead’ (Lk. 16:27-31 RSV).
The fact that the rich man finally shows a sense of compassion leads some to read this parable suggesting that God’s justice is not retributive but rather restorative. The rich man, dealing with the injustice he made for himself, is showing change; he is caring for someone other than himself, even if it is his kinsmen. It is a start, and suggests that he might undergo more transformation, more purification, so that in the end, he might possess the charity which he needs to have the original goodness and integrity of his humanity restored to him. Just as Lazarus did not suffer for eternity, so the rich man might not have to suffer for eternity. God’s justice will prevail. Those who are callous in life will have to deal with that callousness in death. But what that means, if some will be forever lost, that is, if some will face eternal perdition, we do not know. What we do know is God’s justice is not retributive but restorative, and with the parable Jesus gave us here, we can see that the rich man, despite himself, seems to be slowly transformed for the better, giving us the hope that anyone and everyone can be transformed in the same way.
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N.B.: While I read comments to moderate them, I rarely respond to them. If I don’t respond to your comment directly, don’t assume I am unthankful for it. I appreciate it. But I want readers to feel free to ask questions, and hopefully, dialogue with each other. I have shared what I wanted to say, though some responses will get a brief reply by me, or, if I find it interesting and something I can engage fully, as the foundation for another post. I have had many posts inspired or improved upon thanks to my readers.
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